Stop & Search

The West Midlands Commissioner's Police and Crime Plan includes
a commitment to introduce new oversight mechanisms for Stop and
Search, which it is recognised can be a source of tension between
the police and public they serve.

West Midlands Police has overhauled its use of the controversial
"stop and search" power − leading to an increase in its
effectiveness across the region.

As one of the launch forces for the Home Office's "best use of
stop and search" scheme last summer, WMP has introduced a raft of
measures to improve its use of the power.

Central to the changes is the stop and search mapping
scheme. The initiative allows the public to see exactly where
this important power is used and what the outcome of every stop and
search is.

It means for the first time people in the West Midlands force
area can see details like the ethnicity and the age range of those
who are stopped and searched.

Stop and Search: Know Your Rights

You or a vehicle that you are in can
be stopped and searched if a police officer has reasonable
grounds to suspect that you are carrying drugs, weapons, stolen
property, or items that could be used to commit a crime.

The officer searching you must explain
why you are being searched, what they are looking for, and what law
you are being searched under. They must tell you their name
or ID (or "collar") number and the police station where they are
based. The police officer must offer you a
receipt with details of the search.

The police officer will ask you to
identify your ethnicity within preset categories. This allows
the public and the police to monitor whether stop and search powers
are being used fairly, proportionately and effectively.

The police officer should treat
you respectfully, professionally and with dignity throughout
the search. For more information about stop and search, see
this leaflet.

Stop and Search Action Plan

The Police and Crime Commissioner hosted a Stop and Search
Summit on 20 September 2013, including speakers from a range of
organisations and the chance for attendees
to have their say about stop and search.

From this, and building on work already underway, a new stop and
search action plan
was developed, which was open to public consultation through
November and December 2013. The outcome of the consultation
was published in January 2014.
For more information, click here.

As part of the joint Force/PCC Stop and Search Action Plan, West
Midlands PCC David Jamieson and Assistant Police & Crime
Commissioner, Ashley Bertie, will meet with representatives from
each of the stop and search scrutiny panels every six months.
The purpose of these meetings is for the Office of the West
Midlands Police & Crime Commissioner to hear from the stop and
search scrutiny panel members about the work the panels do,
facilitate discussion about issues relating to stop and search and
offer a briefing and update on Force and national issues relating
to stop and search.

The next Stop & Search Commission will be held in
Wednesday 7 June 2017

Stop and search has been the subject of various policies,
reports and research. Click here for
more information.

Been stopped and searched? Tell us how it went

If you have been stopped and searched, you can tell the Police
and Crime Commissioner and West Midlands Police how it went.
Click here.

Later we will be exploring options to allow people to
access their stop and search records and view online
information about how West Midlands Police uses stop and search
powers.

Additional Information

Stop and Search

The Chief Constable and the
Commissioner are aware there are some issues that have a
disproportionate impact on levels of confidence. Stop
and Search powers have been a source of tension between the police
and, in particular, black and minority ethnic members of the
community.

The Police and Crime Plan includes a commitment
that Stop and Search will be monitored through the development of
new oversight arrangements.